The recent TED conference in Vancouver featured a stunningly intricate, mind-bending installation, which was intended to help people find their social soul mate.
Marketing agency MKG worked together with artists Lauren McCarthy and Kyle McDonald to create Social Soul. It is a digital experience that stemmed from the question, "How does it feel to be inside someone else's social media stream?" The installation consists of 50 monitors placed on the ceiling, along with mirrored walls and a reflective floor, imagining that this is what cyberspace would look like. While stepping inside the Social Soul, visitors' Twitter streams displayed the monitors and mirrors and used algorithms to match one another with other TED attendees. After leaving the installation, they were connected with their 'soulmate' online and welcomed to meet their match.
Whether or not there was a successful match has yet to be reported, this interesting installation has created a positive conversation within social media.
Socially Connected Rooms
TED Conferences Held a Mind-Bending Installation to Help People Connect
Trend Themes
1. Social Media Integration - The Social Soul installation showcases the potential for integrating social media into physical spaces, opening up opportunities for businesses to create immersive and personalized experiences for their customers.
2. Algorithmic Matching - The use of algorithms to match visitors with their 'soulmate' highlights the potential for businesses to leverage advanced algorithms to enhance personalization and recommendation systems in various industries like dating, entertainment, and e-commerce.
3. Virtual Reality Simulations - The concept of experiencing someone else's social media stream through immersive virtual reality simulations presents opportunities for businesses to explore new forms of virtual social interactions, entertainment, and marketing experiences.
Industry Implications
1. Marketing and Advertising - The Social Soul installation demonstrates innovative ways for marketers and advertisers to engage with customers by creating interactive and immersive experiences that merge physical and digital realms.
2. Entertainment and Events - The use of Social Soul to match attendees at TED conference showcases the potential for integrating technology and interactive installations to enhance networking, matchmaking, and social connections in the entertainment and events industry.
3. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality - The Social Soul installation hints at the possibilities of combining virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to create immersive and social experiences with integrated social media streams, opening up opportunities for businesses in the VR/AR industry.